Arla Foods set to open new factory in Ghana

Danish dairy giant Arla Foods is opening a new sales and packaging facility in Ghana.

The new facility, Arla Foods Ltd., which would be based in Accra, will begin marketing the company’s branded dairy products in the country from September in response to growing demand for dairy products.

The facility will supply products from the company’s Dano brand, including powdered milk, butter and cheese from value-added brands like Arla and Lurpak.

Arla said the move is in line with its business strategy, Good Growth 2020, which aims to develop new markets for the company’s products outside the European Union and to improve milk price for the 11,200 farmer-owners of the company. The company said it wants to triple its revenue in Sub-Saharan Africa by 2020.

“Ghana is a well-developed food market in West-Africa, where Arla has a lot to offer consumers. More families in the growing middle-class are increasingly demanding safe and affordable nutrition, and West-Africa currently faces a milk deficit, which gives Arla an opportunity to provide dairy products that meet the consumers’ needs,” says Steen Hadsbjerg, vice president of Arla’s business region in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The new factory in Accra will complement an existing repackaging facility the company already has in Tema Industrial Park and will also handle sales and marketing of the products, while distribution is handled through local distributors.

“We are entering Ghana to build a long-term business, and that requires strong, local partners. We are therefore pleased to join with an experienced partner with a strong distribution network in the country,” notes Hadsbjerg.

Arla said it is already recruiting employees for the site, which is expected to be operational by September. The site will initially employ eight people, but that number is expected to grow as the market develops.

Arla opened a new packaging facility in Nigeria in 2015, in partnership with the Tolaram Group, a local manufacturer and distributor of several household brands in Nigeria, like Indomie, Minimie, Power Oil, Power Pasta and Hypo Bleach, among others. Arla also expanded to Senegal in 2016, setting up a 1,400 square meter repackaging facility in partnership with Dakar-based Agroline S.A.